5 out of 5 stars
On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads
On BookBub
How I discovered this book: I read the stand-alone sequel, The World Without Flags, in my role as a reviewer for Rosie Amber's Book Review Team, and liked it so much I bought this, the prequel, as soon as I'd read it.
In A Nutshell: Post-Apocalyptic, Pandemic/Zombies
In Ben Lyle Bedard's parallel universe, a pandemic known as the Worm swept across the country in 1989 and 90, ending civilisation as we know it. The Worm turned people into zombies, some docile, a few 'cracked'; the dangerous sort who try to eat people.
The main character is Eric, a fat, shy sixteen-year-old from Ohio, who, some time after the pandemic began, begins a journey to an island in Maine, about which he has idyllic childhood memories. He is making this journey on foot, and joins up with many others along the way, most importantly a little girl called Birdie, who is the main character of the sequel.
Through the many events of this journey, Eric changes from chubby, self-conscious boy to a lean, hard, brave and sometimes ruthless man, who will do anything to protect those he cares for. It's extremely well-written, a real page-turner, and though I could not always like Eric (I went off him big time after one particular incident), and there were a couple of editorial slip-ups, I still loved the book.
It's a great series, and I hope there will be more.
5 out of 5 stars
On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads
On BookBub
How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.
In A Nutshell: Post-apocalyptic, 10 years after pandemic
I have an endless hunger for post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction, but it has to be well-written, feasible, properly researched and edited, with great characters, realistic dialogue and a plot that keeps me turning the pages. I am delighted to say that this ticked all the boxes. I loved it.
It's actually a Book #2, but it's completely stand-alone; I didn't know of the existence of Book #1 until I looked up the Amazon links for this review.
Birdie is around sixteen (she is not sure of her exact age), and lives in the Homestead in Maine, where she shares a house with Eric, who she thinks of as her father. She has only vague recollections of the Worm, a disease that hit the world a decade ago, around 1990, rendering most of the population zombie-like, though only a few 'cracked' and became flesh-eaters. She is happy enough in her world - but then a traveller appears with news of a coming war between two factions, both of whom want to rebuild the country under their command.
This news leaves the community in a state of extreme anxiety, but worse is to come. Much, much worse...
Most of the story is about a journey that Birdie must make to ensure her own safety and that of those she loves, through land she doesn't know, where she will come up against much danger. The hazardous journey is a post-apocalyptic standard, but it works every time if done well, and this was. It's exciting, unpredictable, and Birdie's development, as she learns more about the world outside her safe enclosure and finds much strength within herself that she didn't know existed, is a joy to read.
If you love this genre, I recommend highly; even if you think you don't, I still recommend. Suffice to say that I've downloaded Book #1, and started reading it as soon as I'd finished #2. One word of warning: it's rather gruesome at times. Don't read it while you're eating. I say this from experience.
4 out of 5 stars
On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE
Death by Pumpkin is a cosy murder mystery (if that is not a contradiction in terms), featuring female sleuth Rhe (pronounced Ree) Brewster, a part-time investigator with the police department in Pequod, Maine. At the annual Pumpkin festival, an unknown and unfortunate person is crushed to death by a giant.... well, you've guessed it. Along with her brother-in-law and Chief of Police, Sam, Rhe sets out on a search for both victim and murderer, leading her all over the state and bringing back some blasts from a highly uncomfortable past.
I am not a lover of police procedurals/forensic investigation, etc, but I liked the way this is written - there's a good balance of plot and Rhe's own story (including a frustratingly tangled love life), so that the novel is about her as much as about the solving of the murder (and, indeed, made me want to know more about her past - this is the way to write a series, giving you just enough detail to make you want to read the others!). There's plenty going on, including another death I didn't foresee and an hair-raising airborne adventure. It's light in style, with some pleasantly humorous parts in both observation and the convincing banter between characters. I also enjoyed finding out about the Native American population of Maine, and life in that state; it's one I'd love to visit.
The book is well presented and professionally edited, intelligently written and very readable, and the plot works; I'd recommend it to anyone who likes a good, clean(ish)-read type of cosy mystery. I haven't read much at all in this genre but I would imagine that it's a very good example of it.
